Sirius' Stamp of Approval by SRRob01

Index

Chapter 1: Sirius' Stamp of Approval
Chapter 2: The Discovery of the Marauders' Most Marvelous Adventures

Chapter 1: Sirius' Stamp of Approval

For the first time since Walburga Black’s reign, laughter filled 12 Grimmauld Place. The only remaining heir and the black sheep to the dreadful “Noble” House of Black (in his opinion, the only thing worthwhile about this house was that they were all dying out) smiled almost smugly at the aggressive splashes of red hair that filled the predominately green and black household. His awful mother would be rolling in her grave to see all of the “blood-traitors” that filled this house now. He took great delight in knowing that vile Walburga would have a conniption now. The only thing that would make this better would be if he could transfigure the entire house to Gryffindor colors. ‘If only I had a wand,’ he regretted that his wand was snapped when he was taken into Azkaban. ‘Maybe I can talk Fred and George into doing it. I’m sure those boys would be able to achieve it…’

His Cheshire grin caught the attention of Molly Weasley. Her brown eyes narrowed suspiciously; her mouth set into a disapproving frown. If possible, his grin only widened. It was always nice to know that his reputation still proceeded him. Molly didn’t even know what he was smiling about and yet she still thought he was up to no good.

“Harry James Potter, are you actually being prattish enough to tell me that the Holyhead Harpies are somehow less talented because it’s an all woman’s team?!” The youngest Weasley’s exclamation broke through most of the conversation going on in the dining room. Everyone at the table turned to look at the two teens. Sirius raised an eyebrow. Harry suddenly looked impossibly uncomfortable and nervous; Sirius noted with amusement that he kept glancing between the redhead and the glaring brunette that sat beside his best friend. He couldn’t contain his chuckle at his godson’s expense.

“W-What?” He stuttered; his green eyes wide. “N-no! I didn’t mean that!” Ginny crossed her arms over her chest and quirked her eyebrows at him as if demanding his explanation. Sirius couldn’t help but stare at them in interest. For a moment, all he could see was a bumbling James and a stern, disapproving Lily at the Great Hall; but the differences between the two quickly discouraged that image. Ginny’s hair was so much brighter than Lily’s; her face was covered with signature Weasley freckles; and she was fighting a smile at Harry’s clear discomfort. “I…I just meant that it’s got to be difficult because of how Sirius grinned when he realized, just as Harry did, what she was doing. “Hey, wait…You’re teasing me!”

“Of course I am, Potter!” Ginny laughed. “You honestly think I’m that touchy?” Sirius couldn’t help but glance to the only other teenage girl at the table that was. Hermione Granger flushed at Ginny’s statement and turned back to the conversation she had been having with a rather amused Ron. That was another relationship that was amusing to watch unfold, but Sirius disregarded them for the moment. He wanted to see how his godson handled that rather tricky question.

“Well, the Holyhead Harpies is your favorite team,” Harry muttered. Sirius’ smile returned when an astonished look crossed Ginny’s face. Clearly, she hadn’t known Harry paid attention. He hid his chuckle behind the rim of his goblet.

Yes, his original assessment was wrong. To his knowledge/gossip around the house, Ginny had had feelings for Harry since the day the met. In the beginning her feelings had been superficial, but they had evolved into something more the longer she was around Harry. Yes, it all sounded very familiar to Sirius. It sounded like how James’ feelings for Lily evolved over the years despite Lily’s complete disgust. Yet, unlike James, Ginny pursued relationships with other boys. She tried to move on.

Despite the slight similarity in the way James’ and Ginny’s feelings developed, Sirius could see little of Lily’s actions in Harry. He didn’t avoid Ginny because of the way she felt; in fact, he seemed to be content not addressing them as not to hurt her. Right now, Sirius was questioning that. It was too early for him to confront Harry on it, but he believed his godson was starting to see Ginny as Ginny . He only hoped that the boy woke up before he lost his chance. In that way, at least, he was like his mother. When Lily came to the realization that she returned James’ feelings, James had been ready to move on.

His attention was pulled fully back to the two teens by Harry’s laughter. It was a sound he had been deprived of; and if Ginny could always make his godson laugh like that, then Sirius most definitely gave their relationship his stamp of approval. He smirked. He had the feeling Harry would like it just as much as Ginny would.

Sirius’ stamp of approval was simple: a place in the honorary Marauder album (which was really just a large diary that Lily had given him for Christmas). The book was charmed to expand every year to accommodate more pictures, notes, and drawings. Most of the album contained pictures and notes from the Marauders’ own school years. (Come to think of it, he should probably pull Harry aside soon and show him. He would probably enjoy it). Lily and James had an entire section of the album devoted to them. If the look on Remus’ face was any indication, then his fellow Marauder would approve of his decision.

The conversation between Harry and Ginny lulled, but the silence did not bother the two of them. They didn’t seem to realize that they were staring at each other, almost lovingly. Sirius smiled and discreetly filed the image away so that he could redraw it in the album.

As they sat there and looked into one another’s eyes, still smiling, and occasionally giggling, it became evident to Sirius that it was time to pass down the legendary album to the younger generation. He grinned.

Sirius couldn’t wait to see their relationship unfold.

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Chapter 2: The Discovery of the Marauders' Most Marvelous Adventures

12 Grimmauld Place had changed with Sirius’ death. The place had become less welcoming; it wasn’t just the terrifying specter that rushed you when you entered. It was the lack of Sirius himself that made the place feel somehow colder. Despite his horrible experiences, his godfather had filled this place with a certain warmth. Harry Potter had thought he would never step another foot in this place since his godfather’s death, but yet here he was. He walked through the place, not bothering to pick up some of the things scattered on the floor.

Nothing about the state of the house really made him angry because he knew just how Sirius felt about the house. His godfather had despised everything about the house; he had joked many times about just burning it down. What would Sirius have cared that Mundungus raided his childhood home? As far as Sirius had been concerned, the thief could have stolen everything inside; he could have destroyed it if it had suited his fancy. Harry truly agreed with this assessment…until he had pushed the door to Sirius Black’s room open.

Despite knowing that the house had been ransacked, he hadn’t known…he hadn’t thought that Mundungus would sink so low as to trash Sirius’ room. Rage unlike anything he had ever known swelled up within him as he looked around his godfather’s room. Over the scent of stale air was the heady smell of Sirius’ cologne that had poured from broken bottles. Drawers were removed from the dressers, tipped over, and discarded; things were strewn all over the floor–clothes, broken cologne bottles, books, and pages. Feathers covered the floor from the demolished pillows and the torn mattress. It look as if a tornado had torn through his godfather’s sanctuary.

Harry turned his back to the damage and tried to breathe, to calm down. He tried every trick he knew of: counting, thinking happy thoughts, and just breathing deeply. It took about an hour for his rage to subside enough to him to face the room again. With a simple wave of his wand, dresser drawers flew back into their slots; clothes were returned to their proper position; broken bottles were vanished; the puddles left behind were cleaned; pages returned to the books and the books returned to the shelf. Within seconds, the room was tidy again. (Harry suspected that it was much tidier than Sirius had ever kept it). Only then did Harry’s blood pressure lower enough for the ringing in his ears to die.

And for the first time since Sirius’ death, Harry entered the room his godfather had called his.

It wasn’t until Harry reached his godfather’s closet that he realized the cleaning spell had only extended to things he could see. Inside the closet, a box was still overturned. Items of apparent sentimental value lay on the floor. Harry knelt down and began to gather them by hand.

The first his hand touched was a golden Snitch. Its wings unfolded slowly. They were yellowed by age and made brittle, but they still flapped–albeit half-heartedly. ‘This must have been the Snitch my dad was playing with in Snape’s memory…’ He thought as he turned it in his hand. He allowed himself a small smile at holding something that his father had once held before he set in the box.

He lifted the next item that rested on the floor: an old, aged potions book. He opened the cover out of curiosity and saw the name: Lily Evans. His heart gave a small skip as he stared at his mother’s signature. He noted with affection that she used the bottom slope of the “s” to underline her surname. He ran his fingertip over the handwriting. For a moment, he wondered if she had written notes in the margin; he decided then that he would go through the book later. He set it beside the feeble Snitch.

A full moon necklace with the initials R.L. carved into the back came next. Harry smiled slightly as he delicately worked to untangle the chain. While he unraveled the knots, he thought of the necklace’s origin. ‘I wonder if Remus would want this back…’ His grin faltered a little when he recalled Remus’ boggart: a full moon. ‘Even though…it was probably given to him as a joke.’ He thought as he ran his thumb over the engraved letters. ‘I’ll have to ask who gave it to him…and why…’ He laid it carefully on top of the Potions book. For a moment, he simply stared at the necklace before he pulled his eyes away from it. Another book…no, a composition notebook came last. By the moving picture charmed to the front, Harry could tell that someone had fashioned to be an album of sorts. Elegant, male handwriting declared the book The Marauders’ Most Marvelous Adventures. He stared at the picture, entranced. He didn’t have to wonder who they were; even without the flashy title, he would have known. He recognized the group from Snape’s less than flattering memories, but their faces were different. They weren’t maliciously happy…they were simply happy.

Sirius stood with an arm around his father’s shoulder. The smile on both of their faces was blinding. More notable to him was the laughter on both of their mouths. He swallowed. Remus stood next to the group, just smiling fondly at his friends. Harry shook with emotion at the sight of Peter. The traitor stared with almost worshiping eyes at his father and godfather. Suddenly, the youth and happiness on their faces seemed out of place. He felt they should have been angry; they should have been distant from him. He wanted his father, his godfather, and Remus so far away from Peter that he almost wished he could Apparate into the frame and shove Peter out.

Unable to look at the album at the moment, Harry set it inside of the box–on top of the other things. He closed the box and tucked it underneath his arm. He would carry it to Hermione so that she could keep it safe in that bag of hers until he was calm enough to look through it.

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